Occupational Baby Names in Observance of Labor Day by OhBabyNames.com

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In appreciation for all the hard working folks across America, we thought we’d take a look at which baby names have etymological origins derived from occupations. "It is the working man who is the happy man. It is the idle man who is the miserable man." -- Benjamin Franklin.

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB)August 30, 2013

In most cases, these so-called “occupation” names started out as surnames before transferring into personal given names in more modern times. After the Norman Conquest of 1066, surnames were mostly given to members of the aristocracy but by the 15th century all British citizens had them (as a form of identification for the purposes of taxation). While the Irish and Scottish-Gaels already had “clan” names, the general English population derived their surnames primarily from one of four places: 1) patronymic (i.e., passed from the father’s name like Harrison, Jackson, Benson, etc); 2) location-based surnames (derived from the location where one was born such as Beckham or Harley; 3) nicknames describing one's personality or physical features (Corbin, Marley, Todd); and, last but not least, 4) occupations.

Occupations were an obvious way to identify and differentiate all of the Johns, Williams and Roberts living in the same town. John the town’s baker became John Baker. William the carpenter was called William Carpenter. And Robert the stone-worker became known as Robert Mason. Not only that, but certain occupations were highly regarded in medieval England. For example, a Miller was the town’s mill-keeper, to whom farmers would bring their grain to ground – so Mr. Miller was a super important person to know! Or if you needed to build a house, you better call on Mr. Sawyer (the dude who saws the wood for you).

Shakespeare once asked, “What is in a name?” Well, our mission at OhBabyNames.com is simple: to answer that question as comprehensively as we can! Names are never given accidentally; they are carefully chosen and bestowed according to the rules that reflect fundamental features of the society and culture concerned. There are so many elements to names and the naming process in general. It’s a fascinating study on so many levels: etymology, linguistics, cultures, trends, religion, literary and pop-culture influences, and so much more. Your name not only speaks loudly about YOU and provides one of the very first impressions you give out into the world, but it also reveals the values and ideals of your parents and your society at large.

We are a motley-crew of people who are passionate about the rituals around naming, and we are committed to the dissemination of accurate information to our users through our own rigorous research – in the hopes that we may play some small part in helping you through the process of naming your child. Our goal is to have the most comprehensive content for names on the Internet contained within the best website.